1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an athletic leg support for a horse and more specifically involves a wrap for a horse's lower leg with improved protection, support and shock dissipation characteristics, particularly to the suspensory ligaments and the sesamoid bones
2. Background of the Invention
Horses are highly susceptible to injury to the lower leg. Some injury results from external blows, such as by kicking. Athletic horses, particularly young race horses, often suffer injury to the tendon, fetlock, lower sesamoid bones, and suspensory ligament from the repeated hoof shock during running.
One particular problem is that the fetlock tends to drop as the lower suspensory ligaments fatigue, such as during a long ride such as a polo match or the like. This dropping of the fetlock exposes the sesamoid bones and suspensory ligaments in this crucial area to damage.
Another problem is the formation of wind puffs in the lower leg. Wind puffs are collections of fluid that can often be seen a bulges under the skin. Wind puffs interfere with healthy leg functions and detract from performance.
To help alleviate these problems, conventionally, an athletic wrap or boot is placed on the distal limb of athletic horses to provide protection from trauma. The boot acts as a shield to prevent kicking injury. Additionally, the boot may provide significant energy absorption as the fetlock is extended. The more energy the boot absorbs, the less impact energy is available for tissue deformation and injury.
Conventional boots comprise a band of elastic material that is wrapped around the lower leg. There are a number of disadvantages to the band wrap boot. The efficacy of such wraps are very operator dependent in that if the wrap is too tight or too loose the wrap is ineffectual or may even cause more problems or damage. Such wraps do not dissipate energy well to act as a shock deadener. Such wraps pull the tendon toward the bone and into an unnatural position and do not provide good front support to the tendon. Such wraps tend to move during use of the leg. The wraps, being purely elastic tension members, only contact the outer high points of the leg and provide no pressure on tissue in indented areas. If the wrap becomes loose or unravels, it can cause injury to the horse and can even cause the horse to trip and fall, subjecting both horse and rider to serious injury.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved support for the lower leg of a horse.